


I'll Fucking Digest You (one kiss at a time)

by Talinor



Category: Borderlands
Genre: Cutting (briefly), Death in Childbirth, Demon AU, Demon Rhys, M/M, Manipulation, Minor Character Death, This fic is kinda fucked up okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-28
Updated: 2016-05-28
Packaged: 2018-07-10 15:36:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6991486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talinor/pseuds/Talinor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He had to admit, he was disappointed. The book described Atlas as a demon who could give you everything you ever wanted- for an obvious price. Your soul was a small price to pay for success, fame, eternal glory, so on and so forth. What he wouldn’t have given for any of those things, let alone his dream life. The worst thing about it was, he’d found himself… actually hoping Atlas would show up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Fucking Digest You (one kiss at a time)

**Author's Note:**

> hoo boy  
> just go ahead and have this garbage fic  
> title's from Lurk by the Neighborhood (it's pretty fitting for this AU)

Jack barely notices his hands are shaking until he glances down at them. His grandmother always warned against this, saying it was ‘bad juju’ or some shit like that. He never really paid attention to anything that crazy old woman said. She was paranoid and practically falling apart at the seams every passing day he spent in that damned house.

Though, now that he was looking down at the thin slashes of red streamlining slowly onto the page of the old ‘magic’ book, he could admit she might’ve had a point. Either that or he’d finally lost it in his own desperation and turned to hoping that this was the answer. That didn’t help the stinging pain in his arm, or the rapid heart rate beating like a drumroll.

This was horribly stupid. What if this stupid demon didn’t even show up? He’d have to hide the scars and try to clean off this stupid book filled up with superstitious bullshit. Blood droplets were kinda hard to get off of dry paper without screwing the paper up. Great. Just great.

He let out a shaky breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding. He should’ve known this wouldn’t work. He should’ve known not to believe his deluded grandma’s old tall tales. 

After waiting a few more uneventful seconds for something miraculous to happen to prove him wrong, he pushed himself to his feet and put one hand over his still-bleeding cuts. At least he could chalk this experience up to demons definitely didn’t exist, and it was better not to focus on stupid superstition that wasn’t real.

He had to admit, he was disappointed. The book described Atlas as a demon who could give you everything you ever wanted- for an obvious price. Your soul was a small price to pay for success, fame, eternal glory, so on and so forth. What he wouldn’t have given for any of those things, let alone his dream life. The worst thing about it was, he’d found himself… actually hoping Atlas would show up.

He’d gotten hooked in by those stupid old tales. How pathetic. Jack was better than those saps who desperately tried to go the easy magical way. Not that magic really existed of course. Just more lies woven as intricately as a spider web. And those tales had snagged him, if only temporarily.

“Indeed,” A surprisingly deep, yet smooth voice agreed. Jack totally didn’t jump slightly, turning around to meet the stranger who somehow found a way into his apartment. “I’ll give you some credit, though. Those ‘saps’ were usually too squeamish to give anything worthwhile for my company.” Mismatched (and kind of hypnotic, honestly) glanced down to his arm, then looked back to meet Jack’s own. The shark-toothed grin both terrified and made him shiver in some emotion he didn’t know how to name. He wasn’t really sure he wanted to. “I’ll admit- you’ve gotten my attention. Now what do you wish?”

For the first time in the history of ever, Jack was speechless. For a demon, the being in front of him was surprisingly humanoid. He (or at least the demon looked like a he) was tall, with skin so pale it looked like he’d been living solely in the darkness of his parents’ basement for a week. Yet he was also very well-groomed, not a single auburn hair out of place in his gelled-up hairdo. A pristine white buttoned shirt that only slightly stood out against his skin paired with the black pinstriped pants made the demon look as if he was getting ready for an interview instead of negotiating for mortal souls.

He could almost believe the being in front of him was actually human if it wasn’t for the arm. Instead of the issued Hyperion cybernetics, or even a regular humanoid arm, it looked like it was made of volcanic rock. It was an ashy dark brown, with small cracks showing slivers of lava in-between the jagged slabs. There was also a peculiar mark on the arm’s shoulder that quickly captured Jack’s attention. It glowed like the lava did, but unlike the rest of the cracks, it was smooth. Like someone took the time to perfect the arch like shape emblazoned on his arm.

“You’re…pretty human-looking.” Was the first intelligent sentence out of his mouth.

That only seemed to entertain the demon, making him chuckle. “What, are you disappointed?” He leaned against the wall casually, as if he hadn’t just spontaneously appeared in someone’s apartment. As if he wasn’t here to negotiate for Jack’s soul. “People are more… comfortable with something that looks close to them. I thought a Hyperion like yourself would appreciate this form.”

Jack thought that over. It made sense, in some way. But something still nagged at him. “If you’re trying to make me comfortable,” He started. “Then what’s up with your arm?”

The demon didn’t look fazed by the question. If his arm always looked like this, he probably got it often. “Part of a daedra- er, demon for you mortals- changes depending on who can see them. Depends on the fate of said person who sees them.”

“The hell does that mean?”

The sharklike grin was back. “It wouldn’t be as fun if I just told you what yours meant. You’ll just have to see in time.” Jack looked over the arm once more. What the fuck was that supposed to mean? What part of his fate involved something like this? He’d summoned this demon to help him, but now he just had more questions than he started out with. “But enough chit-chat. I highly doubt someone like you called me here just to see if you could.” He stepped closer to Jack, seeming to tower over him despite the fact they were both pretty equal in height. “So, what is it that you want from me?”

That was a good question. What did Jack really want from him? He thought it over, silent. “I want…” He trailed off, wracking his brain for the right way to say this. “No, scratch that, I need a chance to make my mark on history. I wanna be remembered.” He willingly looked the demon in the eyes. “Can you do that?”

He hummed in affirmation, seeming to think it over. “How about this- 7 years of success, climbing the corporate ladder, and much more.” The smile was mischievous, as if he was sharing an inside joke with a close friend. Jack wasn’t really sure he wanted to get it. “You know the price already.”

“Wait, are you serious?” That seemed to catch the demon off guard, expression shifting to one of surprise. “I won’t be able to do shit in 7 years. Give me 10, at least.”  
“Are you… seriously trying to negotiate with me right now?”

Jack simply shrugged. “I’ve only got one soul, might as well get something worth it.” He held his hand out to the other. “Do we have a deal or not, cupcake?”

The demon looked down at his hand and back up to his face. The surprised look slowly melted into a sly smile. “You didn’t pay much attention to some of the passages, did you?” He didn’t get a chance to respond, any query interrupted by a hand on the back of Jack’s neck, making both lean forward and close any gap between them.

The kiss was short and searing, unlike anything he’d ever experienced. Like the demon was making a fiery hurricane whirl through him. Part of him wanted to recoil away- but the more dominant part wanted to get closer. Probably some weird magic or some shit. A surprised moan filled the air, and it took Jack a minute to realize with mortification it came from him.

Yup, totally weird magic and shit. Nothing else there.

And as suddenly as it had begun, it was over. The demon pulled away and hummed in satisfaction, taking a moment to soak in the sight of the confused wreck in his grasp. “Pleasure doing business with you,” Were the final words purred from his lips before he disappeared. As if he hadn’t even existed in the first place.

Jack would’ve thought so, if it wasn’t for his bruised lip and the strain in his suddenly tight jeans.

-

A week had passed, and not much had changed. Tassiter was still an asshole, and most of his fellow employees still ignored his existence. A strangely familiar-looking intern kept catching his eye, but other than that nothing monumental happened to change his life for the better or anything.

He would’ve doubted the deal had actually happened if it wasn’t for the stupidly tall intern with a standard Hyperion arm. The same side the demon had had his own prosthetic. The same slicked back haircut, the same mismatched eyes- with the golden one now a bright electric blue.

The knowing smirk the asshole had the balls to throw his direction as they passed each other in the hallway only confirmed Jack’s suspicions. Without thinking, he grabbed the being’s arm. Screw whatever errand he’d been running for some corporate tool- answers were more important.

He dragged (more like, the demon or whatever it really was let him drag him) him to an empty hallway before stopping, looking the other square in the eyes. 

He wanted so badly to wipe that stupid smirk off the being’s face. Speaking of which, it was pretty damn annoying to call him ‘the demon’ or ‘the being’.

“Missed me, I’m guessing?”

“I need answers,” Jack growled, the fact that he was barely eye level with the other only irritating him more. “Who the hell are you?”

“I’m called many things,” He could only wonder why. “But Rhys seems the most… human of them.”

“But you’re not.”

“Brilliant observation,” Rhys’ voice was practically dripping with sarcasm. “Did you figure that out just now?”

He decided to ignore it. “Second off,” Jack said after a moment of silence to calm himself down. “What are you doing here?”

“What,” Rhys raised an eyebrow at him. “Did you really think you’re the only one here willing to make a deal with the devil to get what they want? For money, for power,” The demon leaned closer until Jack could feel the other’s breath on his ear. “To be remembered?” And just like that, the strangely intimate moment was gone when Rhys leaned back against the wall. “This space station is filled to the brim with blasphemous backstabbers willing to betray anyone in their way to reach their goals.” For a moment, the ECHO eye had traces of red on the edges. They disappeared when Jack blinked. “I love it.”  
“So what about our deal, then?” 

Rhys chuckled. “Oh don’t worry,” Those eyes bored into him like they could dissect him in an instant. “Usually I just screw people over on their deals, make them fall somehow, but you,” The organic hand booped his nose in an almost playful gesture. Not something he really expected from a soul-stealing ethereal being, honestly. “Your path is one I don’t want to block. It’s something I don’t want to interfere with. If anything, I’m here to… nudge you along the way.”

“Is… that a good thing?”

“If you want to look at it as not having to worry about me screwing you over, then yes.”

-

Ten years passed by much too quickly. Much quicker than he could ever have anticipated. It seemed like just yesterday he’d negotiated with the demon, and now almost everything had changed.

Jack rose above his station, telling himself that it was because of his quality work, not the fact that a demon pulled a lot of strings for him. People respected him (except for Tassiter, the ass) and went to him to help solve their problems. He met a cute (actually human) intern and the two had hit it off. For a couple years, the demon and the deal he made slipped from his mind. He was happy, with a steady relationship, a fiancée and even a baby on the way.

Then his vision started to darken at the edges. Some nights he could feel airy hands clawing at his skin, trying to tear him open only to look and realize nothing was really there. That’s when it all came rushing back to him- the demon, the deal, what Rhys had said to him. His time was up.

He didn’t want to go yet. He had unfinished business- this couldn’t be the end of his story. Not yet.

Jack moved out of bed, cautious enough not to wake up Nora. She got barely enough sleep as it was, even with the baby. She didn’t need any additional stress from his stupid-ass bad decision he’d made before they met. With legs that felt like they were made of hollow glass, he headed straight for the bathroom.

He opened the mirror cabinet, looking through the shelves for a razor. Or at least something he could use to cut himself with to summon Rhys. He needed to buy more time. But what else could he negotiate? He’d already bartered away his soul, what else would the demon want from him?

He closed the mirror, cursing under his breath. It took him a minute to notice the familiar face behind him reflected in it.

“Time’s up, Jack.” He’d forgotten about the demon’s deep (and kinda-maybe attractive) voice. He’d never forgotten that predatory grin now present on Rhys’ face. “You’ve gotten your portion of the deal- 10 years of success. Now I’m-”

“I know why you’re here, kiddo.” Jack turned around, facing the demon defiantly. “I want another deal.”

Rhys raised an eyebrow, clearly unamused. Whether it was from the nickname or the proposition, he didn’t know. “I’m listening,” The demon leaned against the back wall, arms crossed. The sight of the peculiar lava-rock arm gave Jack an idea.

“I want to live out whatever my fate has in store,” Jack said, looking the demon in the eyes. Blue and green eyes met brown and gold, staring each other down. “My future is one you wanna see play out- I remember you said that yourself, pumpkin. So that’s what I want.”

Rhys seemed to consider that. “True,” The demon leaned forward slightly, their faces only a foot or so away in the proximity of the small bathroom. “But what’s in it for me? You can’t barter your soul again, so what more do you have to give me? Tell me- I wanna hear what you come up with.”

It took him a moment to think of something. It was something very- no, extremely crazy- but then again, he was making his second deal with a demon. He stopped having a normal life a long time ago.

“…Can I trade other people’s souls?” Jack spoke up after a moment of silence, ignoring his dry throat. The demon raised both eyebrows in visible surprise.

“Nobody’s ever propositioned a payment like that before,” Rhys said in consideration, then looked back to Jack with a smile he could almost consider sadistic. “Then again, no mortals I’ve met are like you.”

“Is that a yes?”

“Possibly,” Maybe it was his imagination, but the lava in Rhys’ arm seemed to glow a little brighter at his proposition. He could only wonder what the hell that was supposed to mean. “Alright, how about this- you’ll live through what fate has in store for you, and ten souls lost along the way will belong to me. These souls can belong to anyone affiliated with you- one or two being someone you’ve barely seen or talked to. How does that deal sound?”

Should he feel bad for considering it? Even without the thought that if he said no, this being would take his soul away from him. Take him away from the life he was supposed to have. That’d be like an author killing off the hero in the middle of his story, ending the series before it was supposed to. He wanted to see his destiny.  
If ten other people had to suffer along with him, so be it.

He wasn’t surprised to find he was leaning forward slightly, inching towards Rhys. The word was already poised on his lips, but before it could be said, something else distracted him. A random sudden thought. The demon was already here, might as well ask. “Before I give you my answer, I gotta ask you something.” Jack blurted out the question that popped up that’d been bugging him for a while. “Is the kiss-sealing-the-deal thing really necessary, or did you just like me that much when we first met?”

Thankfully, Rhys seemed to find that funny. “No,” He said with a chuckle, a glint of amusement in his eyes. “While I’m sure you’re irresistibly charming, we have to do our deals like that. Something about melding at one point or whatever, I forgot all the unnecessary details a century ago. Though I have to admit, for a mortal, you’re very…” Jack totally didn’t notice the demon bit his lip for a second when his fiancée was sleeping only a few feet away. “Handsome.”

“I know,” This time, Jack was the initiator of the kiss. His agreement was clear as day, it didn’t need to be said.

This kiss was much different than the last. It was longer, and instead of instant searing hot temperature, it gradually warmed up his bones. The feeling was surprisingly pleasant, like slipping under a warm newly-dried blanket after a long day of working in the snow. It seeped through his being subtly, catching him up in the tide he let himself get swept away in.

Should he feel bad for enjoying it? For practically making out with an inhuman being while his pregnant fiancée slept not even 20 feet away?

Probably, but he couldn’t find it in him to care at the moment. Right now, he was hooked. And Rhys showed no resistance- if anything, the demon was pliant, letting Jack take over. It was intoxicating, and the more Jack received, the more he wanted.

It took him a second to realize he let out a whine when Rhys finally pulled away. Thankfully Nora didn’t wake up from it- he did not want to explain the context right now. Or ever. He doubted she’d understand. No one he worked with would.

How could he even begin to explain? ‘Hey honey, sorry to wake you, I was just kissing this demon to seal a deal for a longer life’? She’d just think he was crazy.

So he just went back to bed with her, invigorated now. He didn’t really feel like sleeping, so instead he just watched Nora next to him on the mattress. Her black hair was a mess, the bags under her eyes light but still noticeable. She looked peaceful, something she hadn’t been while awake for a while. She definitely didn’t need any more stress in her life.

What she doesn’t know won’t kill her, right?

-

Without the crawling feeling of death threatening to take him every minute, Jack felt like new. He felt like he could practically run Helios all by himself. Work still sucked ass, but he went with something close to excitement. It was better than whatever would’ve awaited him if he hadn’t made the deal. (Well… not by much, but it still counted.)

He still saw Rhys in passing, and every time they’d seen each other, the disguised demon always mouthed one word to him: ‘ten’.

It took him a moment to remember what it meant. None of the souls had been taken yet. 

At least, until this particular day.

Jack had been busy, with barely any time to check his buzzing ECHO-comm. Whoever it was, it could wait. Unfortunately, kissing up to Tassiter took priority for now. If a shot at a higher rung of the corporate ladder meant delivering schematics back and forth between Advertisements and R&D for elemental turrets, so be it.

And then he saw Rhys looking straight at him from a foot or so away in the some-what crowded hallway. As they passed, only one word was exchanged.

“Nine.”

It felt like his heart had stopped at the simple word. Who was it?

After practically running to the R&D department and dropping the papers off, he finally checked his comm.

7 missed calls, all from Nora. 24 text messages from her, and one from Doctor Samuels. All of Nora’s were urgent, things like ‘I know you’re busy, but please!’ or the latest one- ‘i need you’.

Samuels’ was just, ‘Jack, get to the hospital wing. It’s about Nora.’

He’s never ran somewhere so quickly in his entire life. Even though the hospital wing was on the other side of the space station, he made it there in about five minutes. It would’ve been more if he didn’t push anyone out of his way, but this was urgent. No amount of surprised glares from his coworkers on the floor were gonna stop him.

Jack only stopped to catch his breath at the wing’s reception desk. The lady only paused her typing for a moment, taking a glance at the panting man leaning on her desk before resuming with whatever she was working on. “Who are you here to see, sir?” She asked in a bored tone.

“I- god,” He’d started to say before gasping for breath again. Man, was he outta shape. He might need to start going to Helios’ gym- after knowing if Nora was okay, of course.

“Afraid he’s not here, sir,” The woman said dryly. 

“No, that’s not what I meant,” He grumbled. Nora could be dead right now, could have had her soul taken because he was a selfish dumbass, and this lady was cracking jokes. It pissed him off to no end. “Nora Coulson. Where is she?”

The woman paused, typed a couple more words in, and then finally looked back up to him. Apparently she chose to ignore his irritated sigh. “Room 216, down the left hall.” She said, pointing in the hallway’s direction as if he couldn’t see it. “Third door to your right.”

If she said anything else, he didn’t care enough to listen.

He raced down the hall, counting the numbers on the doors before getting to 216. He hoped desperately he was somehow not too late, that in some way he could see anything else other than what he was expecting.

And he was right. In the one time he prayed to whatever merciful god would listen to him that he was wrong, that he was mistaken- the still figure on the hospital bed proved him right. His heart sank at seeing her sweaty face, her hair in a mess.

And then he saw the blonde doctor holding a bundle in her arms.

Samuels looked up at him with sympathy. “I…” She trailed off and composed herself. “I’m sorry, Jack.”

Jack barely cared, looking down at the infant wrapped in a light gray blanket. The baby was mostly clean, but her skin was still flushed. Her lips were slightly parted, and he could see the barest wisps of black hair.

“Did she…” He started, voice much quieter than usual. “Did Nora give her a name yet?”

Samuels nodded. “Angel,” He saw her raise an eyebrow. “Do you… wanna hold her?”

He nodded, stepping towards the doctor and cautiously reaching his arms out towards the bundled baby. He held Angel carefully.

After all, she was all he had now.

-

A couple years passed, Angel grew up, and Jack was still stuck in the same boring-ass position than he was when Nora died. He still worked just as much (maybe too much-as Angel sometimes told him) as he had before- hell, if anything, he’d started working harder.

Then he found something… interesting. Interesting as in something that could change his life for the better.

Interesting as in ‘there was no possible way this knowledge could’ve been put on my desk unless someone put it there’. He could make a pretty good guess as to who that someone was.

After all, there was no way a code monkey like him would ever get access to not only a Vault’s location, but also possible Vault Hunter candidates. Unless, of course, a certain demon pulled a few strings for you. Which he was lucky enough to have.

One cup of coffee as he casually looked the information over quickly became three. Then five. At his seventh, he reached a conclusion.

He had to find this Vault. For the sake of Helios (and himself) he needed to call these Vault Hunters up.

But what would motivate them to want to do this for him? Sure, money worked well enough for Nisha and Wilhelm. He could just use the schematics on his desk to (reluctantly) get the perfect Claptrap for it. But what about Athena? What could an ex-Atlas assassin possibly want from him?

“I’ve already got that covered,” That ever-so-familiar deep voice sounded from a few feet away.

At this point, he wasn’t even surprised anymore. Rhys popped up and read his thoughts whenever he felt like doing so. The first few weeks after Nora’s death, Jack didn’t cooperate. He threw whatever was closest at the demon, screaming at him until his throat was raw and he just wanted to crumble.

“You!” He’d shouted. Without even thinking, he’d grabbed the nearest mug off the counter and hurled it at the demon. Rhys had caught it and put it nonchalantly on the nearest table, looking as calm and collected as ever.

And Jack hated that. He hated how his grief meant nothing, how he was only a plaything for this being to entertain himself with. Once Jack outlived his usefulness, he didn’t doubt for a second that Rhys would throw him away like a ripped doll.

A pair of arms wrapped around him and, after a moment of struggling, he leaned into the touch. Even now, he wasn’t sure why he did. He knew it was Rhys- the man who’d ruined his life. But it wasn’t like he could kill the guy.

And Rhys wasn’t the man who really ruined Jack’s life.

He looked to Rhys’ arm. He didn’t understand what the volcanic rocks were supposed to mean still, but after reading the reports the demon left, he knew what the symbol on the shoulder meant. So his fate had something to do with a Vault. But it couldn’t be this one, right? He couldn’t leave Angel yet.

The only reason he got up in the morning was knowing he still had borrowed time. He still had an opportunity to see his daughter grow up.

There wasn’t any turning back now. Not without consequences.

-

He looked over to the Merriff’s body. The lying, conniving snake lay dead only a few feet away from him. 

Why did he try to shoot Jack in the back? He was free to go. Nisha might not have approved of letting him go free, but it was the right thing to do. Because heroes didn’t murder.

Were heroes supposed to enjoy shooting traitors, though?

He couldn’t deny, he’d felt a rush when he pulled the trigger. The adrenaline rush as his shield broke, whirling around and shooting the coward like a reflex. The gurgles as the Merriff died in a puddle of his own blood. The approving smirk he saw on Nisha’s face.

That happened an hour ago, and he still wasn’t over it. His blood still rushed when he snuck a glance at the corpse. It should’ve disgusted him, but it didn’t.

Jack wasn’t surprised to find the demon sitting innocently on the counter, looking to him with pride shining in those mismatched eyes.

“Wonderful work,” Rhys purred. “This suits you, you know?”

His eyebrows furrowed at that. “What do you mean, kiddo?”

Rhys gestured to the window, the hustle and bustle of Concordia easy to see from the Merriff’s office. “This is only a small taste of the power you can have. An office all your own, with a view only you can enjoy.” The demon moved off the desk, heading towards the window to admire it all. Jack followed. “Powerful people following your orders.” Rhys pointed out the Vault Hunters heading to the Fast Travel machine. The demon’s voice was like honey, sweet and his words sticking to Jack. “Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted, Jack?”

“I…” Jack tried to speak, his throat dry. It sounded… amazing. Everything Rhys said was right. Ever since before he summoned the demon as an impulsive and curious 22-year-old, he’d wanted this. And slowly but surely, Rhys was giving it all to him. He didn’t know what to say. “Yes.” He turned to look at Rhys. “Tell me; was that bastard one of the souls?”

Rhys gave him that shark-toothed grin, and for the first time in years, it made that old strange feeling rise again in Jack’s chest. It was a smile he knew was as dangerous as its wearer, but that didn’t matter. “Of course,” The demon told him. “I thought you’d appreciate that fate for him the most.”

That was the point where Jack did a very stupid thing. Something not only stupid, but highly questionable and very crazy. But history would not remember him as a man who made good decisions.

He grabbed the demon’s shirt, forcing him to close the distance as their lips smashed together.

-

Rhys regarded the scene before him intently. Three souls down, and Jack was on his way to the fourth. He’d seen this route as a possibility in Jack’s fate, but it was much more satisfying to see it actually happen. He couldn’t help but smile as Lilith arrived (like he knew she would in this path) and broke the relic, branding Jack’s face permanently. His pained screams were music to Rhys’ ears.

Perhaps it was ridiculous, hanging around this mortal instead of other possible targets. But something about the man’s possible roads had enraptured the demon from the moment Jack was born. As all others, a lot about Jack was uncertain in his first few years of life.

The thing that was interesting about Jack was the rich possibilities if his future was shaped just right. Others who had initially been interested gave up, thinking of him as a lost cause. But Rhys never did. He’d been pulling strings in Jack’s life ever since before the mortal had ever learned to walk.

Like the… unfortunate accident with Jack’s mother and those hungry skags. After she’d died, the only family member left to care for the young boy was his strict grandmother. And that old woman was ruthless to him when he misbehaved, which happened often.

The only downside was that she was a paranoid woman, and had wards against demons. He couldn’t enter the house in any way, but it was better than letting Jack be raised by a caring mother. The hefty pros weighed out the unfortunate cons.

It was uncertain that Jack would ever seek him out, but he secretly hoped one day he’d be able to talk with the man.

But nothing could have prepared him for Jack’s impulsive kiss back in the Merriff’s office. There was nothing in Jack’s fate that showed him getting some strange feelings for him. That had been a month ago, and Rhys still wasn’t sure how to feel about it. He hadn’t been kissed with such fervor, such pure want, since… well, since before he became a demon.

He didn’t even want to think about how long ago that was. It wouldn’t help him to focus on the present if all he thought of was the past.

“I’m gonna kill her,” Jack growled, in an almost insane glee. When the mortal looked up, the brand still burning bright on his face, he looked directly at him. He didn’t even look surprised to see the demon there. “I’m gonna kill ‘em all!”

He finally understood.

-

Jack barely had time to sleep nowadays. If someone cut him open, they’d probably find more coffee in his veins than blood.

But it was all worth it.

He was powerful, more so than he had ever dreamed. He got to crush the life out of Tassiter, something he’d wanted to do since he met the man.  
But dreams had nothing on the reality of it.

Seeing Tassiter’s face slowly flush as he struggled, trying desperately to get free. His blood sang when it finally stilled. When Tassiter went limp. And yet he still kept going, too wrapped up in the feeling of this moment to realize it was over. The only thing that made him stop was the sound of slow clapping behind him, the steady rhythm of click-clack of shoes on the tile.

It was satisfying to pull his trembling hands away to notice the handiwork of purple splotches painting the corpse’s throat. It was like a macabre work of art, and Jack was the painter. Rhys was the first to witness his work, but he wouldn’t be the last. Not by a long shot.

“Six left now, right?” Jack asked breathily, not bothering to look back at his visitor.

Rhys hummed in response, squatting next to him. “Feels good to be rewarded for your heroism, right?”

Jack couldn’t help but shiver at that tone of voice. It was exactly what he needed right now, and he knew that if he hadn’t already been sprouting a semi, he was starting to now. Was getting turned on by a demon’s voice while sitting on the corpse of your ex-boss wrong?

Probably, but he’d already crossed the line of blasphemous long ago.

**Author's Note:**

> my tumblr: squishy--squish


End file.
